Bakithi Kumalo and the Graceland Tribute Band - Friday, January 24, 2020 at 10 AM - Zoellner Arts ...
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
420 E. Packer Avenue, Bethlehem PA 18015 | 610-758-2787 | www.ZoellnerArtsCenter.org
Friday, January 24, 2020 at 10 AM
Baker Hall at Zoellner Arts Center
Bakithi Kumalo and
the Graceland Tribute Band
Education Pack
1
Contents
P 3 Educator’s Letter
P 4 Know Before You Go
P 5 -6 Maps
P 7 -8 South Africa by the Numbers
P 9 South African Language, Religion, Literacy
P 10 South Africa and Apartheid
P 11 South African Music
P 12 Biography of Bakithi Kumalo
P 13 The Graceland Tribute Band
P 14, 15, 16 Preparing for the Performance
P 17 Suggested Extension Learning Topics after the Performance
2
Dear Educator,
You and your class will attend a performance by Bakithi Kumalo and The Graceland
Band at Lehigh University’s Zoellner Arts Center in Baker Hall.
You can use this Education Pack to engage your students and enrich their Zoellner Arts
Center field trip. Materials in this guide include information about the performance and what
you need to know about coming to a show at Zoellner Arts Center. It also includes
interesting background facts to use with your students prior to and following the
performance. This information and the suggestions are designed to stimulate the students’
interest in and encourage their further study of the country of South Africa and the musical
artists who bring us this exhilarating sound.
Review the Know Before You Go items found on page 4.
Read and discuss the background information provided on pages 5 through 13.
At the performance encourage your students to stay focused on the show. Make
connections with what they already know about world music and the history of South Africa.
Invite the students to observe how the various show components like costumes, lights, and
sound impact their experience at the theatre.
After the show use the suggestions on page 14-17 to more fully develop the students’
knowledge and extend their enjoyment of the performance and of the music of South Africa.
Enjoy the Show!
Zoellner Arts Center
3
Know Before Your Go
Whether this will be your students’ first Participate by responding to the
visit to a theatre or one of many visits, it action onstage. Sometimes during a
is always a good idea to speak with them performance, you may respond by laughing,
crying or sighing. By all means, feel free to
about proper theatre etiquette. Please do so! Appreciation can be shown in many
review the notes below to help make the different ways, depending on the art form.
experience enjoyable for all audience For instance, an audience attending a string
members, staff, and performers. quartet performance will sit very still, while
the audience at a popular music concert
Be prepared and arrive early. Ideally, may be inspired to participate by clapping
you should arrive at the Zoellner Arts Center and shouting. The artists may ask you
25-30 minutes before the show. Allow for questions or invite you to participate in the
travel time and bus unloading or parking and show by clapping or even joining them on
plan to be in your seats at least 15 minutes stage. You should feel free to join or not,
before the performance begins. but if spoken to directly, please respond
politely.
Be aware and remain quiet. The
theater is a “live” space. You can hear the Concentrate to help the
performers easily, but they can also hear performers. These artists use
you. Even the smallest sound, like rustling concentration to focus their energy while on
papers and whispering, can be heard stage. If the audience is focused while
throughout the theater. It is best to stay quiet watching the performance, the artists feel
so everyone can enjoy the performance supported and are able to do their best
without distractions. Please remember to work. They can feel that you are with them!
silence your mobile devices too!
Show appreciation by applauding. Please note: Backpacks and lunches
Applause is the best way to show your are not permitted in the theater. There is
enthusiasm and appreciation. Performers absolutely no food or drink permitted in
return their appreciation for your attention the seating areas. Recording devices
by bowing to the audience at the end of the of any kind, including cameras,
show. It is always appropriate to applaud at cannot be used during the
the end of a performance, and it is performances. Please remember to
customary to continue clapping until the silence your cell phone and all other
curtain comes down or the “house lights” mobile devices. The artists are
(the lights over the audience’s seats) are performing challenging and sometimes
turned on again. dangerous work which can become
more dangerous by outside distractions.
4
Maps
Africa
5
6
South Africa by the Numbers
Population:
South Africa is a nation of about 55 million (2016) people of diverse origins, cultures,
languages, and religions. The last census was held in 2011, with a more recent intercensal
national survey conducted in 2016.
7South Africa Language, Religion, Literacy
Languages:
The 2011 census figures for South Africa has 11 official languages:
Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Northern Sotho, Tswana, Southern
Sotho, Tsonga, Swazi, Venda, and Southern Ndebele.
Religion:
The 2001 census, Christians accounted for 79.8% of the population, with a majority of them
being members of various Protestant denominations Southern Ndebele (in order of first
language speakers) Muslims accounted for 1.5% of the population, Hindus 1.2%, traditional
African religion 0.3% and Judaism 0.2%. 15.1% had no religious affiliation, 0.6% were "other"
and 1.4% were "unspecified."
Literacy:
The adult literacy rate in 2007 was 88.7%. South Africa has a three-tier system of education
starting with primary school, followed by high school and tertiary education in the form of
(academic) universities and universities of technology.
8South Africa and Apartheid
Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South
Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 until the early 1990s. Apartheid was
adopted as a formal policy by the South African government after the election of National
Party (NP) at the 1948 general election. It was characterized by an authoritarian political
culture based on baasskap (or white supremacy), which ensured that South Africa was
dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white
population. According to this system of social stratification, white citizens had the highest
status, followed in descending order by Asians, Coloureds, and black Africans. The economic
legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day. Broadly speaking,
apartheid was delineated into petty apartheid, which entailed the segregation of public
facilities and social events, and grand apartheid, which dictated housing and employment
opportunities by race. Prior to the 1940s, some aspects of apartheid had already emerged in
the form of minority rule by white South Africans and the socially enforced separation of black
Africans from other races, which later extended to pass laws and land apportionment.
9South Africa Music
Early 1960s: The influential group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo was assembled by Joseph
Shabalala, then a young farm boy turned factory worker.
o Joseph took the name Ladysmith from his hometown, which lies in the province of
kwaZulu Natal, halfway between the city of Durban (where members of the group live
today) and Johannesburg. The word Black is a reference to the oxen, the strongest of
all farm animals. Mambazo is the Zulu word for chopping axe, a symbol of the
group’s vocal strength, clearing the way for their music and eventual success.
o A radio broadcast in 1970 opened the door to their first record contract – the beginning
of an ambitious discography that currently includes more than sixty albums.
o Their philosophy in the studio is as much about preservation of musical heritage as it is
about entertainment.
o The group borrows heavily from a traditional music called isicathamiya (is-cot-a-ME-Ya),
which developed in the mines of South Africa, where black workers were taken by rail
to work far away from their homes and their families. Poorly housed and paid worse, the
mine workers would entertain themselves after a six-day week by singing songs into the
wee hours on Sunday morning. When the miners returned to the homelands, this
musical tradition returned with them.
1970's and early 1980's: Ladysmith Black Mambazo was established as the most
successful singing group in South Africa.
Mid-1980s, the American singer/songwriter Paul Simon famously visited South Africa and
incorporated the group's rich tenor/alto/bass harmonies into his famous "Graceland" album
– a landmark recording that was considered seminal in introducing world music to
mainstream audiences.
1988 Paul Simon produced Ladysmith Black Mambazo's first worldwide release, Shaka
Zulu, which the group received their first GRAMMY Award for Best Folk Recording. Other
GRAMMY Awards include; Raise Your Spirit Higher (2004), Ilembe (2009), Singing For
Peace Around The World (2013), Shaka Zulu Revisited for Best World Music Album
(2018) and nineteen GRAMMY Award nominations, more than any other World Music group
in the history of the Awards.
1990s: Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the
1990s. It is a variant of house music featuring the use of African sounds and samples.
Typically at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music, Kwaito often contains
catchy melodic and percussive loop samples, deep bass lines, and vocals. Despite its
similarities to hip hop music, Kwaito has a distinctive manner in which the lyrics are sung,
rapped and shouted. American producer Diplo has described Kwaito as "slowed-
down garage music," most popular among the black youth of South Africa.
10Biography of Bakithi Kumalo
Bakithi Kumalo (Bah-gee-tee Koo-ma-low) changed bass forever with his distinctive and revolutionary
technique first heard internationally on Paul Simon's 1987 Album of the Year Grammy winner, Graceland. He
has continued to tour and record with Paul Simon to present day and is in
constant demand as a session player and performing artist.
Kumalo's musical career has been characterized by a series of serendipitous
events, ranging from his debut gig as a precocious seven-year-old filling in
for the bassist in his uncle's band to his enlistment into Paul Simon's group
during the Graceland recording sessions in 1985.
Kumalo creates a singular electric fretless bass sound teeming with double
stops that sound like human voices and the African grooves of his homeland,
which has garnered him a stellar reputation as a sideman. In addition to
touring with Simon, Kumalo's work on Graceland opened the doors for him to
pursue other avenues, including recording and/or touring with Gloria Estefan,
Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Harry Belafonte, Cyndi Lauper, Derrick Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Chico
Ceasar, Laurie Anderson, Gerald Albright, Miriam Makeba, Randy Brecker, Grover Washington Jr., Bob
James, Mickey Hart, Angelique Kidjo, Jon Secada, Josh Groban and Chris Botti. He has also produced five
solo albums with a sixth about to be released — 1998's San' Bonan, 2000's In Front of My Eyes, 2008’s
Transmigration, 2011’s Change, and 2016’s After All These Years.
Kumalo's bass-playing history began in Soweto where he grew up surrounded by music. His mother sang in a
church choir and his uncle, a saxophone player, was always at his house rehearsing his band. "Every
weekend, everyone would be at my house singing and playing all day," Kumalo says. "Plus there were bands
on every block of my neighborhood. So, music surrounded me. There was traditional African rhythmic music
as well as a cappella vocal groups. I picked up the bass early and realized I could follow the groove of a tune
with it. I could play the bass lines from a cappella music, and I learned how to develop lines based on the left-
hand work of accordion players in the township bands."
However, it was an 18-month road trip with his uncle's band to Zululand when he was 14 that helped to
solidify his bass voice. The band gigged as well as played at schools and hospitals, but then got stranded
there. During that downtime, Kumalo had a dream where he saw someone playing, using his thumb in a
particular way. That set him on the path of bass discovery.
Kumalo says it wasn't until later that he heard the fretless sound by people like Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller
and Victor Bailey. "And, of course, there was Jacob Pastorius," he says. "I heard him, and I thought, hey,
that's like me."
While Kumalo became a professional at an early age in his uncle's band, life in apartheid South Africa posed
many challenges; so many, in fact, that Kumalo began to look for work outside the music field. However, a
producer friend introduced him to Simon, whose music he was largely unfamiliar with. Despite his
nervousness in meeting the American pop star in a studio setting, Kumalo says Simon immediately gravitated
to his bass style.
Bakithi uses NS Design upright basses, Phil Jones bass amplification, Roland bass pedals, Cordial cables,
and Labella strings.
11The Graceland Tribute Band
The “Graceland” band was formed during a tribute to the 25th anniversary of “Graceland” at
the Philadelphia Folk Festival.
The Band includes lead vocalist/guitarist Ryan Tennis of Philadelphia and other regional
musicians.
The band plays all of Simon’s “Graceland” hits, including “Graceland,” “Call Me Al” and
“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.” Their shows also include other world-music oriented
songs by Simon and South African songs.
12Preparing for the Performance
Consider and Discuss About the Show:
Have you been to an arts theater before?
What presentation did you see?
What are the expectations for your behavior at a theater production?
Have you ever performed in a theater?
What was your part in the presentation?
Besides the performers, what other individuals/jobs are parts of the presentation?
How does music play a part in your life?
Are you trained in music—instrumental or voice, or music appreciation?
Does being musical, or having a musical family, enhance your life?
13Preparing for the Performance continued
Websites:
https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/af.htm
https://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/under_african_skies
About the Country of South Africa:
What do you know about the Continent of Africa?
What do you know about the country of South Africa?
What is your understanding of the process of Apartheid?
Do you know of anything in our US history that was/is similar to Apartheid?
(Diminished rights for selected groups based on race, gender, educational or
economic status?)
Have you ever experienced being discriminated against?
How did you/would you handle it?
14Extension Learning for after the Show
Consider and Learn More:
Learn more about Paul Simon the American Artist.
Why his trip to South Africa was so controversial?
Do you feel that Paul Simon was right in making the trip?
Or should he have honored the artists’ ban on South Africa?
Learn more about a fretless bass guitar.
How is it different from a fretted guitar (or guitar with frets)?
How do the differences influence its sounds, popularity, or use?
Learn more about the music of other nations in Africa.
Which instruments are used by other African Nations?
How does music play a part in the culture of the countries? In Africa and worldwide?
15School Matinees & Educational Programming
2019-2020 ACADEMIC YEAR
SCHOOL SHOWS
Bakithi Kumalo & the Graceland Tribute Band Fri., Jan. 24 @ 10am
Grammy Award winning South African bass player Bakithi Kumalo - the bass player on Paul Simon’s
history-making, best-selling Graceland album - will perform the album’s great music with the Graceland
Tribute Band for a show that has passion, energy, and pulsing South African rhythms. BEST FOR
GRADES 5 and up, www.bkumalobass.com School performance at 10 am $4.00 per seat. General Public
Performance Fri, Jan 24, @ 7:30 pm call 610-758-2787 for group pricing.
Erth’s - Prehistoric Aquarium Adventure
Thur., Mar. 12 @ 10am & Fri., Mar. 13 @ 10 AM
Erth’s Prehistoric Aquarium Adventure is an immersive experience that invites you to jump in and explore
unknown ocean depths where prehistoric marine reptiles lived eons ago – and maybe live still
today! Using actors, technology, puppets, science and imagination to create an amazing visual
experience that connects the audiences to the real science of paleontology.
www.prehistoricaquarium.com Study guide available. School performance at 10 am $4.00 per seat.
General Public Performance Fri, March 13 at 7:30 PM call 610-758-2787 for group pricing.
FAMILY FRIENDLY
Rennie Harris Funkedified Saturday, February 15 @ 8PM
Rennie Harris is a Philadelphia hip-hop legend. In his new work Funkedified, Harris’ Puremovement company pushes the
boundaries of street dance to create a multi-media performance set to the soundtrack of 19070s funk music and more. Through live
musicians and an electric soundscape, audiences follow his personal journey from the culture of funk music to the evolution of hip-
hop. Puremovement dancers will be accompanied LIVE by The Hood Lockers and the New York Funk Band Invincible. Group
pricing available, call the box office at 610-758-2787.
Ocean Soul - Brain Skerry, Underwater Photographer Sunday, March 29 @ 4PM
National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry has spent more than 10,000 hours
underwater, often in extreme conditions. Journey with him from the North Atlantic,
where harp seals face off with commercial hunters, to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in search
of Atlantic blue fin tuna, and to research facilities studying dolphin intelligence. The
images he captures while on assignment offer a mesmerizing glimpse of the “soul of the
sea.” Group pricing available, call the box office at 610-758-2787.
Music Master Mentor Concert
Sunday, April 5 @ 4PM
LEHIGH VALLEY MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PERFORM UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MR. BAKITHI KUMALO & MR. WILL SMITH
The student musicians chosen to participated (through an audition process) in the first ever Music Master Mentor Program at
Zoellner Arts Center will perform with their mentors Bakithi Kumalo Grammy – Award winning bassist and musician and music
director Will Smith, in an exciting and energetic concert the entire family will enjoy. This is an opportunity music lovers and students
of music will not want to miss. Group pricing available, call the box office at 610-758-2787.
Zoellner Arts Center | 420 E. Packer Avenue | Bethlehem PA 18015
Education & Community Engagement Coordinator Lenore Pitsilos | 610-758-5774 | Lpitsilos@lehigh.edu
16You can also read
